Their interpretation of the recent ER wait study:
The researchers attribute the longer waits primarily to an increase in the number of emergency room visits coupled with the closure of many emergency rooms. Both factors are driven by the lack of universal health coverage. Uninsured patients “” and those who have no primary care doctor “” flock to emergency rooms for routine coverage, clogging the system. Meanwhile, hospitals lose so much money dispensing charity care through emergency rooms that many collapse into bankruptcy or give up emergency care.
Wrong on the first count. Studies have debunked the myth of the uninsured flooding emergency rooms, when in fact, people with private insurance accounted for most of the growth in emergency-room crowding.
I agree with the second point. There are not enough primary care physicians. Simply mandating universal coverage without a corresponding increase in primary care support will further crowd the ER.
Update:
David Catron with a roundup of blogosphere opinion.
